There are still very serious challenges and problems at the plant.
Large crane pumps, used to pour concrete in high-rise construction are on the way to the site, but they are days away. They can extend directly over the #3 building to keep a flow of water over the SFR pool. The fire trucks will have to keep flooding as best they can until the other trucks get there.
Things are never as simple or easy as the media understands or reports. You don't want too little water, and you don' t want too much, either. As long as they're spraying water, the electrical guys can't hook up the new external power source to the cooling systems.
The pumps stop, then the power guys rush in wearing radioactive suits to work on the power, but they can't linger very long because of the radiation levels.
They couldn't run the external power line (6,900 volts) directly to the area because of debris from the explosions. They had to run it around the side, taking more time. Also, you don't just plug it in like your toaster. The switchgear and motor starters were damaged by the tsunami, so they need to evaluated and test or bypassed with new temporary ones.
Everyone has to rehearse their motions in this dance between teams. They are under a stopwatch, so a mistake can mean overexposure. It may have taken six months to do this during the original construction, and they're trying to do it in days.
Number 5 and #6 are using external power now for cooling and their SFR pool temperatures are going down. They are out of the picture. They hope to have #1 and #2 using external power for cooling today (it's 7am Sunday As I type this), if the systems are not damaged. Numbers 3 and 4 will be last.
Testing has shown some contamination (iodine and cesium - from the fuel rods) of local spinach and milk. The amounts are small, but that's why they test. Now the distribution will be controlled. You would have to eat a large amount of unwashed spinach every day for a year to receive the same dosage as a CT scan. Yes, you can wash it off, so please keep that in mind if the media forget to mention it.
Some trace amounts of iodine and cesium also found in water testing in several areas. Those are expected in this situation. If the safe limit is defined as under 100 goobers, the amount found was 0.8 of a goober. That's a scale I just made up (The Rolex scale). Remember that also in case the reporting doesn't describe it.
All four SFR pool temperatures are under 100C, so there is no boiling. There will still be rapid evaporation, but let's hope they can keep it controlled. There are still extraordinary mountains to climb at the plant.
One of the chiefs of the Tokyo firemen who at the site was holding back tears as he apologized on TV to the families of the men he has had to keep on site. His actions made me think they may be over their exposure limits, but they won't leave.
Lastly, for today, there is a squabble with the French government. They have ordered the members of their small search and rescue team up north to evacuate to an area far away from the plant. Farther than the evacuation area everyone is using. The Japanese said to either go back or get out of Japan, since there are hundreds of thousands of people in the area they left and there is no radiation danger in that area.
That brings me to my last point. It is not political, it is simply my opinion about policy, so I hope Skuzzy will understand that.
I, and many others here, are disappointed in foreign governments telling their citizens that they should ignore what the Japanese government is saying and leave Japan. I consider it to be a disservice to people here who are trying to act with common sense and calm in this situation. Japanese see all these people rush in a panic and it stokes fear and confusion. Where are they going to evacuate to? Imagine if the tables were turned. I wish the British, French, German, Swiss and US governments (the major culprits) would shut. the. hell. up.
